Alcatel have announced a new Idol model this year in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress. This new ultra-slim smartphone comes in two sizes, 4.7″ and 5.5″ Android slabs. Touting dual hi-fi speakers and a 13 megapixel rear camera developed to do battle with low level light settings. The 4.7″ screen sits atop a quad-core CPU whilst the 5.5″ harbours an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor. Both rock 4G LTE connectivity alongside Lollipop. The interesting feature here is the orientation of the screen, the phone will right itself no matter what way round you are looking at the screen.

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NVIDIA are entering your living room based on the idea of the NVIDIA Shield mobile gaming device. A full on centrepiece for your living room called NVIDIA Shield Android TV. It’s the world’s first dedicated Android TV console. Using “Grid,” a technology platform NVIDIA developed to access a big computer in the cloud to stream games, NVIDIA are pushing this as the “Netflix for gaming”. This isn’t entirely revolutionary, Onlive had a go some years ago and Playstation is testing a similar, is expensive, subscription platform for the PlayStation 4.

NVIDIA Shield Android TV console will go on sale in the States in May for $199. A bundle will include the console, one controller, and access to all of your Google Play Store content with optional accessories for purchase including gaming controllers, remote control for the TV, and a stand to make the NVIDIA Shield stand vertically.

Specs wise, the is a bit of a best, and for the money it looks a lot more capable then the Xbox One or PS4. 4K output is going to be a real head turner and built on the latest Tegra X1 processor will provide the juice. It is important to note that this is a streaming device, so no local rendering will happen on the console, this all takes place on the Grid.

Built on Android TV, SHIELD can play top-quality 4K video content, includes one-click access to Google Voice Search and provides the richness of Android’s app ecosystem.

SHIELD is a sleek device that comes loaded with cutting-edge NVIDIA technologies, including the recently launched NVIDIA® Tegra® X1 processor.

SHIELD is also the gateway to the NVIDIA GRID™ game-streaming service. Powered by GeForce® GTX™ supercomputers in the cloud, GRID delivers an on-demand “Netflix for games” experience at up to 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second.

“SHIELD will change the way we enjoy digital entertainment at home,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA. “It’s an incredibly powerful, efficient and advanced living room entertainment device. It’s the best Android TV experience. And it can transform into a serious gaming machine. It’s made to game.”

Made to GameSHIELD – sold with the SHIELD controller made for serious gaming – is a single platform with access to a wealth of great games.

First, 50+ Android titles optimized for SHIELD will be available for download, including AAA titles like Crysis 3, Doom 3®: BFG Edition™ and Borderlands: TPS. These can be played at blistering speed, thanks to SHIELD’s Tegra X1 processor, with its 256-core Maxwell™ architecture GPU and 64-bit CPU.

Second, favorite AAA titles, including console games, can be streamed using the GRID on-demand game-streaming service. GRID will include with its subscription price access to 50 titles, such as Batman: Arkham Origins, GRID 2 and Metro: Last Light Redux, with additional titles added each week.

Third, the GRID service can be used to purchase and stream new release AAA titles – including Batman: Arkham Knight and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt coming later this year.

Broad Developer SupportSome of the world’s leading game developers and publishers have embraced SHIELD and the GRID service.

“The incredible processing power of Tegra X1 enables us to bring Doom 3: BFG to Android and we’re excited by the possibilities that GRID is bringing to gaming.”– Tim Willits, studio director, id Software

“Tegra X1’s enormous processing capabilities running on Android TV gives us access to a much broader audience, and we’re delighted to partner with NVIDIA to explore a variety of exciting possibilities for SHIELD, including the remastering of the survival horror classic, Resident Evil 5.”– Jun Takeuchi, managing corporate officer, CAPCOM

“SHIELD is definitely made to game and thanks to Tegra X1 we have The Witcher: Battle Arena playing natively on SHIELD. With GRID, we’ll be able to bring new hit games to fans immediately.”– Benjamin Lee, The Witcher: Battle Arena lead producer, CDPROJEKT

Pricing and AvailabilitySHIELD will be available in May, starting at $199 with a controller. Optional accessories include additional controllers, a remote control and a stand enabling the device to stand vertically.

SHIELD is the central member of the SHIELD family of devices, complementing the SHIELD tablet, the ultimate tablet for gamers; and the SHIELD portable, the ultimate portable gaming device. More information is available at http://shield.nvidia.com.

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This year Huawei is taking another stab at wowing Mobile World Congress with the announcement of the Huawei Watch. Huawei have always shown a clever offering at the show and this year they are joining in the rakes of most other manufacturers with a wearable. The watch looks to take a very traditional approach, not from a smart watch point of view, but instead resembling the time piece design we are all faimilar with.Two full promo videos have popped up on YouTube for this Android Wear-powered beauty that will be made official very soon. The features include sapphire glass, a heart rate sensor, interchangeable leather or metal straps, crown, a bunch of classy watch faces, and a perfectly round watch face.